Safety goal compliance info available on web

Same-day surgery managers who want to see how their compliance with the national patient safety goals from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations compares to compliance of all organizations that have undergone surveys can check out the results on the Joint Commission web site.

Data show compliance with 2003 goals and include the following information:

• For organizations that underwent a scheduled full accreditation survey, compliance was greater than 94% for most requirements.
• Compliance was 85% for standardization of abbreviations.
• Organizations demonstrate a lower compliance rate, about 87%, during random, unannounced surveys.
• During 2003, compliance with the goal that specifies marking the surgical site increased significantly, from an average of 80% at the beginning of the year to an average of more than 95% at the end of the year.

To see the data by goal and by type of organization, go to www.jcaho.org, Under the "Top Spots" section, choose "National Patient Safety Goals & FAQs" then scroll down to the bottom of the page to select "2003 National Patient Safety Goals Compliance Data."